Written by: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet, Roberto Álamo
Rating: [4/5]
Telling scary stories through a visual medium has the tendency to rely upon loud jolts and terrifying sights to make individuals jump from their seats. Something quite effective and has developed as the formula for horror films for decades now. However, another method exists, one where the circumstance of the situation unraveling provides all of the terror and discomfort the audience cannot escape. This very much summarizes what gets accomplished in The Skin I Live In as one of the most discomforting and horrifying stories out there.
In his secluded estate, Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) has a woman held hostage who he utilizes in practicing his controversial grafting of artificial skin, which has the ability to resist burns and insect bites. As others learn about her existence on his estate it begins to raise questions about his conduct and what he seeks to accomplish by keeping her there unraveling quite the disturbing story.
If one word could be utilized to describe The Skin I Live In, deranged one would initially spring to mind in the way this feature envelops you in a story so out of this world in its heinousness while also doing so in such an entertaining manner. Everything you think this feature will turn into will prove incorrect as it goes into some very dark direction in answering the questions of Ledgard’s motivations for the woman kept captive. The discovery becomes so horrifying but ultimately contributes to what makes this such a disturbing story.
With the capabilities possessed by Dr. Ledgard acting without impunity allows him to undergo such invasive procedures to his own ends. It displays the power possessed by someone with the capability to surgically alter another person. The damage done here can have a worse impact than anything another person could possibly do outside of straight murder. This makes Ledgard the ultimate villain and one who we should fear more than anyone else we see in this feature because of the unassuming manner in which he engages in his transgressions. He presents as a functional and contributive person in society while engaging in these actions while no one else looks.
The more we learn about the past leading up to the present we see in this feature, we witness the unbearable tragedy Dr. Ledgard has experienced. Going back to his wife and how he could not bear the grief that came with losing her. I cannot stand here and say I would know how I would manage to deal with it myself if it happened to me, but this does not necessarily set to justify the actions done by this man as seen later in the film. Grieving for another person does not give someone like Ledgard the right to go out and do what he ultimately does in this feature marking something so incredibly disturbing and the implications attached to it.
This lack of morals very much sums up the entire film and what it delivers on a storytelling level. Each of these characters presents a front of kindness but has the capability to engage in some terrifying actions to attain what they want through any means necessary. We see this not only through Ledgard but other characters like Marilla (Marisa Paredes) and Zeca (Roberto Álamo). It does not leave much room for a pure person to root for other than than Vera, the entrapped woman in the Ledgard estate, but even her story does not come with straightforward sympathy. These dubious morals make for a messy proposition but one with characters so fascinating in their approach that it maintains your attention throughout.
While Pedro Almodóvar typically tells tales of intense romances, he knows how to dip his toe into some very disconcerting territories that make you raise an eyebrow about his selection of stories. With the material he takes on, he manages to keep the salaciousness of the story while also utilizing his incredible filmmaking style to make each of the moments presented hit even harder than one could imagine. He slyly reveals the information of this story in a manner where it feels like the rug constantly gets pulled under you revealing a new horrible fact happening. Quite the feat for him here.
Quite difficult to recommend to the average person because of the subject matter involved and the horror on display, The Skin I Live In, certainly will get under yours in the way everything materializes. Truly a one-of-a-kind experience allowing Antonio Banderas to operate in one of his more menacing roles to date and frighten me in ways I never thought he could. Pedro Almodóvar manages to tell a horror story without all of the scares but merely through the implication of everything happening and when reality begins to emerge to reveal the actions and inactions of the characters involved in the story. In my attempts not to curse, this feature undoubtedly can be described as f***** up.
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